walter



July 25, 1933. E Q WA 1,919,919

ADD-SUBTRACT CONTROL FOR COMPUTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 31, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 25, 1933.

E. c. WALTER ADD-SUBTRACT CONTROL FOR COMPUTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 51, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllllll ll Patented July 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD C. WALTER, OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO ELLIOTT-FISHER COMPANY, OF HARRISBURQ PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE ADD-SUBTRACT C ONTROL FOR COMPPUTING MACHINES Application filed December 31, 1930. Serial No. 505,822.

My invention relates to control mechanism for computing machines and more particularly to improvements in add-subtract controlling mechanism for the Elliott- Fisher billing machine'of commerce.

By way of premise, in the Elliott-Fisher billing machine, a letter spacing carriage, upon which are mounted printing mechanism and a master actuator, advances the actuator past one or more relatively stationary column registers to effect denominational selection therein and has mounted thereon a cross-footer register operative in synchronism with each column register to add or to subtract as determined by the position of a shiftable gear member located in the cross-footer.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a simple and efiicient mechanism for shifting said gear by advance movement of the carriage, in timed relation to advance of the actuator past each column register, and including meansincorporated with each column register and capable of being individually set to predetermine whether or not said gear shall be shifted, whereby the crossfooter register may be controlled to add or to subtract, in connection with operations in a number of column registers, in accordance with a predetermined setup variable at will.

To the accomplishment of the above and other objects which will presently appear a preferred embodiment of my invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will now be described in detail and defined in the claims appended hereto.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, with parts shown in section, of a portion of an Elliott-Fisher billing machine equipped according to my invention,

Figure 2 is a view in rear elevation partly broken away,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a con trol member with which each column register is equipped in the practice of my invention,

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the use of the control member, and

' machine.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a keeper member for the control member.

Referring now to the drawings the numeral 1 designates the carriage of the Elliott-Fisher billing machine, travelling on rollers 2, and 3 the master actuator fast on a shaft 4 journaled on the carriage 1, as at 5, and operated by the number keys, of the machine. As will be understood the carriage 1 supports downstrike printing mechanism, and is advanced, through the medium of the usual spring motor, and escapement mechanism, to letter space the printing point of the machine through the different column positions on the work. It has not been considered necessary to a 'proper understanding of my invention to illustrate the printing mechanism, keys, motor, escapement mechanism and other appurte nances characteristic of this machine and well known.

As the printing point of the machine advances through successive denominational positions of a column the master actuator 3 is advanced to select corresponding denominational number wheels 6 of a column register 7, a number of which, one for each column, are mounted in the rear of the carriage 1 on top of a stationary register bar 8, by well known devices indicated at 9,

- for location along the bar to different column positions and for removal from the The column registers 7 are equipped in front of the register bar 8 with a downwardly projecting control bar 7 for the attachment of certain operating con trol members as at 8 and which need merely be mentioned in passing.

Denominational selection, in the crossfooter register 11, which is suitably mounted on one end of the carriage 1, is effected in correspondence with that in the column register 7 by means of a laterally shiftable crossfooter actuator 12 keyed upon a driven shaft 13, and advanced across number wheels 14 in the crossfooter register 11, by actuator advancing mechanism as follows.

A shaft 15, suitably journaled in the crossfooter 11, is partially rotated at the proper point in the advance of the carriage shaft 15, and engaged, by. advance travel of the carriage 1, with a relatively stationary part not shown. An actuator advancing arm 16 fast on the shaft 15 is sutably connected as at 17 with an actuator carriage 18 shiftable laterally on guides 19 to imart movement of said shaft to the crossooter actuator 12 against the tension of a suitably connected actuator retracting spring 20.

The shaft 13, and hence as Wlll be understood the crossfooter actuator 12 and number wheels 14, is driven in reverse directions, respectvely, for adding and subtracting operations, by gearing including a subtracting car 21 constantly in mesh w1th a gear 22 ast on the shaft 4. The subtracting gear 21 is shiftable laterally on a stud 23 from an adding to a subtracting POSltlOIl by a gear shifter 24 slideable in the crossfooter register 11 on horizontal bars 25. A suitabl connected shifter retracting spring 26 yie dingly retains said shifter 24 and gear 21 in adding position, in which said gear meshes with a gear 27, fast on the shaft 13, and drives the latter in one direction. In its subtracting position the gear 22 meshes with one side of a twin gear 28, the other side of which is in mesh with the gear 27, and the shaft 13 is thereby reversed. The foregoing actuator advancing mechanism and reversible gearing are more fully disclosed in my Patent N 0. 1,455,196 to which attention is invited.

Coming now to the features of my invention, pivoted intermediate its ends, as at 29, upon a suitable part of the crossfooter 11 is a vertically disposed gear shifting lever 30 having its upper end slotted, at 31,

to receive a stud 32 on the shifter 24. Five otally mounted to rock on a bracket 33, projecting rearwardly from the carriage 1, is an operating member 34 in the form of a bellcrank lever having a horizontal arm 35, provided with a roller 36, and a downwardly projecting arm 37. A rod-like connecting member 38 has its opposite ends suitably connected to the lower end of the shifting lever 30 and the arm 37, respectively, so that if the operating member 34 is rocked by depression of its arm ,35 the shifting lever 30 and gear shifter 24 will be moved to shift the subtracting gear 21 to subtract position against the pull of the shifter retracting spring 26. The connecting member. 37 is provided with a turnbuckle 39 for adjusting the relative position of the shifting lever 30 and operating member 34.

Suspended to swing from the bottom of each column register 7, for cooperation with the operating member 34, is a control member 40 adjustable into or out of the path of travel of the roller 36 to depress the arm 35, or not, as desired in connection with operation in selected column registers 7 and associated columns, and hence whereby the performance of addition or subtraction in the crossfooters register 11 may be controlled in accordance with a predetermined setup of members 40 to an operative or inoperative position.

The control member 40 has the form, preferably, of a rectangular skeleton frame stamped or otherwise formed from a single piece of sheet metal and including, opposed plate-like cam and hinge members 41 and 42, respectively, the cam member 41 for engaging the roller 36 and maintaining such engagement during travel of the actuator 3 past its register, and the hinge bar 42, for suspending said member 40. The side bars 43 of the member 40 are bowed at an angle to dispose the members 41 and 42 in relatively obtuse angled planes so that in its operative position the cam member 41 may occupy a vertical position and the hinge member 42 a position inclined from the vertical.

The control member 40 swings on a keeper plate 44, suitably secured to the bottom of the column register 7. The keeper plate 44, preferably, is formed from a sheet of spring metal, slit inwardly from one edge for a suitable distance, as at 45, to provide a central section 46 and two side sections 47. The side sections 46 have their front edges rolled to provide aligned channels 48 in which the hinge member 42 is confined by the bottom of the register. In this position of the parts the central section 46 is depressed forming a leaf spring element bearing upwardly against the lower edge of the hinge member 42.

It will be seen, by reference to Figures 1, 5 and the dotted line illustration in Figure 4, that because of the cross sectional contour of the hinge member 42 and the spring action of the central section 46 the control member 40, when swung beyond a central, dead center position, will be snapped into operative or inoperative position as the case may be and yieldingly retained in either position. This provides for quick and easy adjustment of the control member 40 by the finger of the operator while the column registers 7 are in location on the register bar 8.

In its operative position the control member 40 abuts the-control bar 7 which acts as a stop therefor. Preferably the control member 40 and control bar 7 are provided with cooperating devices for preventing the control member from twisting side movement in the keeper plate 44 and in the form of an aligning lug 49 on the member and a notch 50 in said bar receiving the lug. In its inoperative position, shown in dottedlines in Figure 4, the control member 40 is stopped by a screw 51 forming part of the register adjusting devices 9.

By virtue of the fact that the control member 40 is mounted on the column register 7 there is provided a manufacturing unit which can be mounted on and removed from the register bar 8 as such and moved along the bar as a unit to difi'erent column locations, all of which is of primary advantage as regards expediting operation of the machine and accurate control in connection with each column register.

The foregoing constitutes a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that right is herein reserved to such modifications thereof as fall fairly within the scope of the protection prayed.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a register, of a control frame including opposed plate-like cam and hinge members, respectively, disposed in relatively obtuse angled planes whereby the frame may be suspended by the hinge member to swing about a horizontal axis into a position to locate the cam member in a vertical plane and the hinge member in a plane inclined from the vertical, and means for suspending the frame to swing from the bottom of the register and including a spring element bearing against one edge of the hinge member to yieldingly retain said frame in said position.

2. In a machine of the class described the combination with a register having a depending flange, of a control frame including opposed plate-like cam and hinge portions, respectively, disposed in relatively obtuse, angled planes whereby the frame may be suspended by the hinge member to swing about a horizontal axis into a position to locate the cam member in a vertical plane and beneath said flange and the hinge member in a position inclined from the vertical, means for suspending the frame to swing from the bottom of the register, and cooperating devices on the frame and flange, respectively, interlocking in said position of the frame to prevent side movement of said frame.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a register, of a control frame including opposed plate-like cam and hinge members, respectively, and a keeper plate for suspending the frame from the bottom of the register for adjustment thereon and having at one edge rolled side sections receiving the hinge member and a spring section intermediate the side section bearing against said hinge member to retain the frame in adjusted position.

EDWARD (J. WALTER. 

